title: Nerve root compression by herniated intradiscal gas. Case report.
abstract: Intervertebral disc degeneration of any etiology may be associated with the formation of spaces or clefts within the disc. Gas collects within these spaces and can be seen roentgenographically. A case is presented in which intradiscal gas herniated into a connective tissue capsule, displacing the left S-1 nerve root and producing symptoms and signs identical to those of a herniated nucleus pulposus. The pathophysiology of gas within a disc space and the possibility that it may herniate much like the nucleus pulposus is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Tennessee, Memphis.
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Ricca
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Hines
mesh_terms: D005740:Gases; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000209:etiology*; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots
chemical_list: D005740:Gases